by E. R. Mason
Rogers took time to change into her only spare set of clothes, jeans, tennis shoes, and a black turtleneck. Cassiopia, in laced-up boots, cargo pants, and a tan, collared work shirt, hung a small belt pack around her waist and met her at the bedroom door. Without speaking, they made their way to the austere environment of the secret SCIP lab. There seemed to be a strange quiet about the place, as though the computers themselves were anticipating something extraordinary. The Tel robot stood by the large array of lever switches on the wall, the Professor watching from his swivel chair at the nearest Drack station. He immediately took notice of the leather holster and gun on Rogers’ hip, and rose from his seat and motioned to her.
“Ann, you should not bring a firearm with you.”
Rogers looked down at her handgun. “It’s only a little one,” she said mockingly.
The Professor tried to be reassuring. “Where you are going, the entire environment consists only of what we call thought-matter. The laws of physics are different there. Some of my calculations suggest that were a bullet to be fired there, it might never lose its velocity or trajectory. It might go on forever. Mr. Markman fired his weapon during his first visit and it has worried me ever since.”
Rogers thought for a moment, then reached down and unclipped her holster. She placed it on the desk and looked back at them with doubt.
Cassiopia changed the subject. “Okay, so this will be just a very short, uneventful trip to show the new door is working and to give you a chance to experience Dreamland, Ann. I can’t say where we will find ourselves, but as long as we remained relaxed and positive, we should find it a pleasant experience. Are you okay with all of this, so far?”
“It’s hard to get excited about something you don’t believe. I expect this charade to end shortly,” she replied flatly.
The Professor came to them and handed each a small black control with two LED indicators, and a small button beneath a clear guard. “The button under the guard calls for the SCIP door, the horizontal LED meter shows you the direction to the door. The vertical LED meter gives you a relative distance from it. There are no normal standards in Dreamland, so those LEDs will not tell you exactly how far you are, they will only tell you whether you are getting closer or farther away.”
Cassiopia unzipped her belt pack and put the control in it. “I’m thinking maybe a fifteen or twenty-minute visit, and then we come right back.”
Rogers tucked her control in her jean pocket and laughed.
“What’s funny?”
“You guys are so serious, like this is actually going to happen. I just know the punch line is coming any time now.”
Cassiopia looked at her father. He nodded and resumed his seat at the Drack station. He looked over at the Tel. “Tel, S-U-S, please.”
The robot obeyed without speaking. It turned and began the power start-up sequence, closing the heavy knife switches and breaker box levers that decorated the wall. The heavy silence that so dominated the room was shattered by the drone and crackling of high power electronics equipment coming to life. Amber lights flashed on in steps around the huge Drack towers, and dozens of small colored LEDs raced with life around the frame of the SCIP doorway. Blacklight appeared around the white porous material within the doorframe and brightened to cast an eerie violet glow upon it. Florescent light came on within the stacks of the Drack columns, as data began to scroll downward on the computer displays surrounding it. The hum of the machinery phased in and out. The Tel turned back to face the Professor, colored lights from around the room reflecting off its polished surface.
The Professor, leaning over the keyboard, began entering commands. A whine like a jet engine starting swelled to overtake the pervasive hum. The Professor looked back at them, “Get ready.” He tapped a key and a loud crack echoed off the walls of the lab. Lightning flashes filled the electronic doorway until the white material within it could not be seen. Abruptly, a second artificial clap of thunder rang out, but just as suddenly, the room returned to stillness and quiet, a charred smell left to mark the violence.
Rogers stared at the SCIP door with her mouth hanging open. Where the white porous material had once been, there was now a silver, flowing mirror, the most brilliant mirror she had ever seen. The Professor turned in his swivel chair to admire it with her.
Rogers began to have doubts. She looked at Cassiopia. “Through that?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“Won’t we be electrocuted?”
“No.”
They stared in silence at the glimmering surface. Professor Cassell spoke, “Remember, the secondary door will disappear as soon as you’re through. You should remain in the immediate area so that it’s easier to recall it.”
Cassiopia touched Roger’s arm to get her attention. “You should come up to the ramp, and look through at the void we will be stepping across so that you’re ready for it.”
Together they climbed to the mirror. Cassiopia motioned Rogers to proceed. Still dazed, Rogers looked back at the Professor for reassurance. He nodded.
Bracing herself with one hand on Cassiopia, Rogers pushed her head through the mirror plane and opened her eyes. Three feet away, an identical mirror hung in what appeared to be nothingness. Above, below, and on both sides, a strange illumination with a golden tint seemed to go on forever. When she looked down, Rogers had the feeling she might fall forever. She pulled back out, and looked with disbelief at Cassiopia, hoping for an explanation. Cassiopia understood.
“It is what it is. There’s nothing adequate to explain nothingness. Are you still willing to try it?”
Rogers appeared bewildered but nodded.
“Remember, we need to be calm and casual. Whatever we are feeling will cause an environment to form on the other side. We want this to be a short, dull visit to Dreamland. If there are people there, we can interact with them but remember they’re not real, and they can be a problem. That’s it, a nice, quiet, non-eventful visit. You’re not nervous, are you?”
Rogers took a deep breath. “I still don’t want to believe this, but I’m losing the battle.”
Cassiopia looked at her father. He returned a doubtful stare. She turned back to Rogers. “We have to hold hands to be sure we both end up in the same place. She took Rogers hand and faced the SCIP mirror. “On the count of three. One, two, three….”
The two explorers pushed inward, past the emptiness, and past the second mirror to Dreamland.
Chapter 14